FIRST SINGLE ROPE WITH A SHEATH THAT INCLUDES ARAMID

The Swift Protect Pro Dry is the first dynamic single rope with built-in cut resistance. This means high-strength aramid fibers are integrated into the rope sheath during the braiding process. This increases the cut resistance of the rope many times over. This makes the Swift Protect Pro Dry the ideal lead climbing rope in rough terrain or when an additional safety reserve is required.

EDGE LOAD AND CUTTING LOAD WITH CLIMBING ROPES

First the good news: modern climbing ropes can't really tear. In the past 60 years, the German Alpine Association (DAV) has only documented 64 rope breaks. In 53 of these, there were identifiable causes. From the available data, there are four main causes: acid, friction burns, rockfall and edge loads (see Panorama 5/2012).

While the first three causes can be generally prevented by proper use and storage, edge loads seem to remain a problem. The edge does not even have to be particularly sharp.

It becomes particularly problematic when there is a pendulum movement over an edge (e.g. when abseiling or lowering). Then, in addition to the edge load, a cutting load occurs, which can have fatal consequences. The rope is cut through, so to speak. How can we mitigate these risks?

CUT RESISTANCE TECHNOLOGY

At EDELRID we have tackled the problem and developed a rope that has a particularly high cut resistance. This is made possible by the new "Cut Resistance" rope technology. This means high-strength aramid fibers are integrated into the rope sheath during the braiding process. Compared to polyamide, aramid has a significantly higher cut resistance.

The crux: aramid is a particularly static material. Compared to polyamide, it has virtually no dynamic properties. However, in the event of a fall, it is necessary to absorb the resulting energy and thus reduce the impact force to a tolerable level.

In a special production process, we have succeeded in matching the aramid and polyamide fibers in the rope sheath in such a way that we create a rope with particularly high cut resistance, while simultaneously complying with the standard for dynamic mountain ropes.

As is often the case with new innovations, currently there is no test procedure for assessing the cut resistance of ropes. For this reason, at EDELRID we have developed a special machine that simulates this load under reproducible laboratory conditions.

The internal comparison of the Swift Pro Dry and the Swift Protect Pro Dry shows that ropes with Cut Resistance technology have almost twice as much cut resistance as conventional mountain ropes.

IN COMPARISON

At 8.9 mm, the SWIFT PROTECT PRO DRY has the same cut resistance as a 10.0 mm rope (at 80 kg)!

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Like all our ropes, the Swift Protect Pro Dry is bluesign® certified and wound using the 3D Lap Coiling process, which is our new winding technique. This means the rope is immediately ready to use. In combination with the sophisticated packaging design, it is now very easy to unpack the new rope straight at the wall without annoying twisting or tangling. Just unpack and climb!